Google Flights Introduces Feature to Highlight Cheapest Booking Times
- ByStartupStory | August 29, 2023
Google Flights is launching a new feature this week aimed at helping travelers make informed decisions about the best time to book their flights. Leveraging historical trend data, the feature offers insights to users about the lowest prices typically seen for their chosen destination on their selected travel dates. This addition seeks to assist travelers in determining whether to book immediately or wait for potentially lower prices.
For instance, the insights might indicate that booking two months before departure is the optimal time for the cheapest fares or that prices often decrease closer to the departure date. This feature complements existing insights provided by Google Flights, such as indicating whether current prices are lower, average, or higher compared to past averages.
Users can also activate price tracking to receive notifications about significant price drops for their chosen dates or flexible dates based on their preferences. Additionally, some flights will feature a price guarantee badge as part of a pilot program in the U.S., indicating that Google is confident the fare won’t decrease further before departure. If it does, Google will refund the difference through Google Pay.
These new insights and flight savings features were shared in a recent Google blog post, which also presented flight booking trends for 2023 up until July. Notably, the data showed that for Christmas flights, the lowest average prices were observed 71 days before departure, a change from the 2022 trend report that noted 22 days before takeoff. Moreover, the study revealed that there is no longer a specific “sweet spot” for price dips before rising again for U.S. trips to Europe. Instead, prices tend to be lowest 72 days or more before departure, according to Google’s findings.
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